Date of Award
2020
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Program
Education
Department
Education
College
Human Sciences and Education
Faculty Advisor
Ray, Chris
Description
Institutions of higher education continue to try and find new ways to help students persist in college (Kinzie & Kuh, 2017). One compelling tool to help students succeed comes from Dweck’s (1999) Mindset model. The model depicts intelligence as either fixed or growth; meaning intelligence can be viewed as unchangeable or malleable. Students with a growth mindset recover from failure quicker, overcome challenges faster, and see difficulty as a positive challenge instead of questioning their intelligence. With the many challenges domestic students face persisting in college, international students studying abroad face additional factors inhibiting their motivation and ability to succeed. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether Dweck’s (1999) 8-item Mindset sub-scale could be valid with international students studying within the United States. A multiple-sample confirmatory factor analysis using maximum likelihood estimation was used to assess measurement invariance with domestic (n = 1809) and international (n = 275) students at a large-midwestern university. The secondary purpose was to determine whether GPA, gender, year-in-school, English language proficiency, and first-generation status impacted international student mindset scores. A seemingly unrelated regression was used to determine if there were any differences in the sub-group population of international students (n = 268). Results indicated Dweck’s (1999) Mindset Scale is valid for use with international students studying within the U.S. and significant differences were found in the mindset scores within gender, academic rank, age, and first-generation status. The results of this study inform the literature and institutions of higher education on how Dweck’s (1999) mindset model can be used as another tool to help international students succeed in college. Future research implications were shared and discussed.
Recommended Citation
Winfrey, Steve Edward, "Validating the Mindset Scale for Use with International Students Attending College in the United States" (2020). Education. 72.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/education/72
Rights
NDSU policy 190.6.2
Rights Link
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0003-1604-1299
Handle Identifier
https://hdl.handle.net/10365/32293